Vail Daily obituary: John W. Goodell, 1923-2012

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Born in Woodsville, N.H., May 29, 1923, and raised in Wells River, Vt., John W. Goodell was the youngest of five children born to Harvey E. Goodell and Ellen B. Baily. After high school, he went into the Army Air Corp for flight training in Florida toward the end of World War II and mustered out of the Army as a second lieutenant with the end of the war.

John attended the University of Vermont in Burlington from 1945-50 for a degree in economics. During his studies, his high school skiing competition led to collegiate competition, captaincy of the university ski team and a lifetime enjoyment of the sport.

In December of 1950, he came to Colorado with a friend and stayed on in Aspen to work and ski, meeting a Glenwood girl, Loyette Gamba, whom he married June 21, 1950.

He took courses in accounting at the University of Denver in the '50s that led to a 20-year career in accounting. After working as accountant during the first four years of the Vail Ski Resort, the last fifteen years of his work were spent in Alaska. He and Loyette spent their summer vacations paddling the waters of Alaska's Prince William Sound, pitching their tent along the tide line and living off the crab, blue mussels and salmon so readily found in the early days of modern-era sea kayaking.

In 1979, John and his wife retired to their home in Vail and enjoyed skiing, hiking, biking and camping in the mountains of Colorado and the desert Southwest. Their enjoyment of hiking and camping also took them to Europe, Australia, Japan and China.

John is survived by his wife, Loyette, of Vail; son Bill, of Anchorage, Alaska; brother Harvey, of Bellingham, Wash.; and sister, Margaret Hunt, of Shelburne, Vt.-There will be no services, and his ashes will be scattered in the waters of Price William Sound.